Dental implants are a widely accepted treatment for the partially or completely edentulous patient. Dental implants are the fastest growing procedure in dentistry today. It is a 1 billion dollar industry in the USA. Dental implants offer a suitable alternative to mucosal adhering dentures and allow a more natural option for the patient. Implants have a high success rate when given proper care and when post-surgical instructions are followed. Dental implants can be in the form of a single tooth replacement, or can replace a series or an entire set of teeth. The basic implant procedure involves drilling a channel in the mandible where an artificial root is surgically inserted. A dental prosthesis is then placed onto the frame of the artificial root. Within a few months of recovery, the patient should have a fully integrated and functional prosthesis.
Implant procedures are not without complications. The goal of an implant procedure is to attain a successful level of osseointegration. Osseointegration is defined as the direct anchorage of an implant by the formation of bony tissue around the implant without the growth of fibrous tissue at the bone-implant interface. Implants surrounded with fibrous tissue show mobility when a load is applied. The successfully osseointegrated implant shows no mobility when loaded. Other major factors for the successful implant depend mainly on the type of jaw treated, the density of the bone, and the length of the implant. Implant length is the depth created by the surgeon upon drilling a channel in the mandible. Short implants have a length of less than 10 mm and are noted to have larger failure rates. Hence the need to create sufficient length for successful osseointegration of implants within the mandible is a priority.
However, the drilling of a large implant channel within the mandible carries a risk of breaching an intraosseous canal which encloses the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN). Disruption of the IAN can lead to loss of sensation in the anterior mandible area, such as paresthesia or numbness to the lower lip, due to the disruption of the mental nerve, which is the terminal branch of the IAN and is the neural bundle serving this area. The loss of sensation for the patient is certainly undesirable.
The reported incidence of nerve injury from implant placement in the literature is highly variable and ranges depending on the study from 0% to as high as 44% (Misch and Resnik Implant Dentistry 2010; 19:378-386). A survey at the Misch international institute indicated that 73% of dentists have encountered neurosensory impairment within their practice. To help prevent nerve injury, patients can be subjected to CT scans which are costly and also involve radiation. The standard error for a CT scan is still in the range of 1.7 mm. This measurement error can result in nerve damage.
There is thus a need to develop a surgical drill which is able to detect the proximity and/or location of the IAN in the mandible, preferably during implant procedures. The sensor device should allow the drill to approach closely, but not impair or damage the IAN within an acceptable error limit of the intraosseous canal. Hence, a system that automatically terminates drill action when in close range of the IAN would be most desirable.